Gadget Hacks How-Tos
How To: Fast Charge Your iPhone X, iPhone 8, or iPhone 8 Plus
When Apple announced the iPhone X, 8, and 8 Plus, they had a laundry list of new features to talk about. They discussed the improved camera, the new screen, wireless charging, and many other things, but they curiously failed to mention that they just matched one of biggest features Android has touted over Apple for years — fast charging.
How To: Restart Your iPhone in iOS 11 Without Using the Power Button
The new iOS 11 update provides an easy software-based solution to shut down your iPhone in case the power button, officially known as the Sleep/Wake button on all iPhone models except the iPhone X, goes bonkers. In addition to this, there's also a hidden setting that lets you instantly restart the device, and it's better than the "Bold Text" trick that's been around since iOS 7.
How To: Activate Siri on Newer iPhones Without a Home Button
In its never-ending quest to innovate its flagships, Apple's newer iPhone models with Face ID do away with the iconic Home button present since the first iPhone back in 2007. That means screenshots, force-restarting, switching apps, Apple Pay, and the home screen all work differently on the iPhone X, XR, XS, XS Max, 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max. One of the more important aspects, Siri, is also slightly different.
HoloLens Dev 101: Building a Dynamic User Interface, Part 3 (Focus & Materials)
We started with our system manager in the previous lesson in our series on building dynamic user interfaces, but to get there, aside from the actual transform, rotation, and scaling objects, we need to make objects out of code in multiple ways, establish delegates and events, and use the surface of an object to inform our toolset placement.
How To: Take Screenshots on the iPhone X, XS, XS Max & XR
The fact that the iPhone X, XS, XS Max, and XR don't have Home buttons means that you'll need to learn a few new gestures. There's the home gesture, the multitasking gesture, and even a new way to access Apple Pay, among others. But one less-common action that has issues due to the lack of a Home button is taking a screenshot.
How To: Force Restart the iPhone X When It's Acting Up
Every now and then, an iPhone will freeze up and become unresponsive due to a software glitch. It can be a buggy app that somehow interferes with iOS or a software update that somehow didn't install properly. Whatever the cause, it's safe to say that no iPhone is immune to this problem, not even the new iPhone X.
How To: Shut Down & Restart the iPhone X
One click on the iPhone X's Side button locks or wakes the device. Two clicks opens Apple Pay. Holding down activates Siri. So how do you shut down the iPhone X then? On every other iPhone, you hold the Side button down until the "slide to power off" option appears, but that doesn't exist on the iPhone X.
How To: Use Apple Pay with Face ID on Your iPhone X, XS, XS Max, or XR
For Apple Pay users, the iPhone X, XS, XS Max, or XR will be an adjustment. Gone are the days where you could rest your finger on the Home button and hold your device within range of a contactless reader. Without Touch ID on the iPhone X, this isn't possible. But have no fear, Face ID is here.
How To: Use the App Switcher on iPhone Models with Face ID
So you saw the new iPhones with their bezel-less designs and fell in love. You imagined watching videos and enjoying HD content on its gorgeous OLED or Liquid Retina screen. At first, you worried about the lack of Touch ID, but Apple assured you that Face ID is an adequate alternative. But wait, what about the other features of the Home button? How will you even access the app switcher?
How To: Open the Control Center on an iPhone Without a Home Button
Gestures are a big deal on an iPhone X, XS, XS Max, XR, 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max. Without a Home button on Apple's super-premium smartphones, several actions had to be mapped to gestures instead, which impacts other areas of the system such as the Control Center.
How To: Access the Home Screen on the iPhone X, XS, XR, 11 & 11 Pro
Is the Home button the main reason you haven't pulled the trigger on a new iPhone? Are you worried that you'll miss its functionality too much, or that simple things like accessing your home screen will be too hard? Well, don't worry about any of that, because Apple came up with some intuitive gestures that makes the old Home button seem clunky and outdated once you get used to things.
How To: Unhide App Purchases on Your iPhone in iOS 11
In the new iOS 11, Apple lets you hide purchased apps from the App Store no matter if you have "Family Sharing" turned on or not, which is an interesting change from iOS 10. It's a fairly easy task to hide an app from your list of purchases, but unhiding it is anything but easy.
How To: Redownload Previously Purchased Apps from iOS 11's App Store on Your iPhone
Apple removed the App Store from iTunes in the new 12.7 update, which means you can't download iOS apps from iTunes or view your app library anymore in macOS. Everything is done on your iPhone now, but the process for viewing and re-downloading apps you've previously purchased has changed slightly in iOS 11 compared to iOS 10.
How To: Easily Scan Documents on Your iPhone in iOS 11
Scanning important paperwork on smartphones is a tedious process, often relying on either external scanners or third-party apps that had to be either purchased or were loaded with annoying ads just to get the job done. Thankfully, iOS 11 now lets you easily scan documents using your iPhone, and finally does away with the need for third-party apps or machines.
How To: 10 Tips for Pre-Ordering the New iPhone X on Friday Before They Sell Out
The new iPhone X will be released on Friday, Nov. 3, in Apple Stores located in over 55 countries and territories. For those of you who would rather skip the in-stores lines that will start building well before the 8 a.m. local time openings, you can preorder the iPhone X on Friday, Oct. 27, starting at 12:01 a.m. PDT.
Ranked: The 5 Best Home Screen Launchers for Android
One of the best things about Android is the ability to customize your phone to your liking. From changing the layout of icons to finding the perfect wallpaper to reflect your current mood, there's a wide range of tools to make your phone yours.
How To: Quickly Disable Touch ID on Your iPhone for Extra Security in a Pinch
In the US, law enforcement officials can make you unlock your smartphone with a fingerprint, but they can't force you to input a password or PIN, which would violate your Fifth Amendment rights. To help you from ever being in a scenario where you're forced to put your finger on the Touch ID sensor, Apple has a built-in way for you to disable biometrics on your locked or unlocked iPhone in mere seconds.
Nova Launcher 101: How to Get Android Oreo's Adaptive Icons on Any Phone
One of the best new features in Android Oreo is the new Adaptive Icons system. Starting now, developers can create a single icon for their apps, then your launcher can stylize those icons in a broad range of shapes to match your system theme. Most home screen apps haven't added support for this feature yet, but Nova Launcher just threw its hat into the ring.
VSCO 101: How to Use the Selfie Camera on Your Android Phone
If you love to take selfies and post them online for all the world to see, then it's important to ensure that you are always sharing your best side. It's pretty common for people to just open up their stock camera app and snap a quick photo, wherever they may be — but there's a bet
How To: Use the File Manager on Your iPhone
Apple has finally given us a decent file manager in iOS 11. The new "Files" app replaces the not-very-old iCloud Drive app that appeared in iOS 9, but you can still access your iCloud Drive files in the new Files app, as well as files from third-party cloud services. A nice improvement, right?
How To: Watch Apple's iPhone 8 Event on Apple TV, iPhone, Android, Mac, or PC
The iPhone 8 is just about here. If you're anything like me, you can hardly contain your excitement. Apple has been keeping its 10th-anniversary device — whether you call it the iPhone X, iPhone Edition, or iPhone 8 — as secret as possible, but this past year we've seen a waterfall of leaks. Now that all of the rumors are out of the way, we're finally going to see what's actually in store for Apple's newest iPhone.
Cheap Phones Ranked: The 4 Most Durable Budget Phones for Clumsy People
Clumsiness is the great equalizer when it comes to smartphones — it makes no distinction between the most expensive flagship handset and cheaper mid-range models. A hard drop onto pavement will usually result in a shattered screen, regardless of how pricey your device is. And with a smartphone breaking every two seconds, we're truly our own handset's ultimate nemesis.
ProtonMail 101: How to Send Self-Destructing Emails
When you're sending sensitive information via email, it's best to do so with end-to-end encryption. Even better, set the email to destroy itself after a set amount of time for a little piece of mind.
How To: Drag & Drop on Your iPhone
Apple first added a "Drag and Drop" feature to iPads in iOS 11, but your iPhone can do a little of the magic, too. It's just not so obvious. While you can't drag and drop items from one app to another like you can on an iPad using Split View and Slide Over, you can move things around in certain stock applications. And it works the same whether you're using iOS 11, 12, or 13.
How To: Disable iOS 11's New Screenshot Thumbnail Previews
When you take a screenshot on your iPhone in iOS 11, a thumbnail preview appears in the corner for a few seconds. Tapping on it will give you immediate editing and sharing tools, but not everyone digs the convenience.
ProtonMail 101: How to Send End-to-End Encrypted Emails to Non-ProtonMail Recipients
It can be hard to get all of your friends, family, coworkers, and acquaintances to jump on board with the more-secure email system ProtonMail, but that doesn't mean you can't still send them encrypted emails. Best of all, they won't even have to install any other apps or extensions to read or reply to the messages.
HoloLens Dev 101: Building a Dynamic User Interface, Part 2 (The System Manager)
Now that we have installed the toolkit, set up our prefabs, and prepared Unity for export to HoloLens, we can proceed with the fun stuff involved in building a dynamic user interface. In this section, we will build the system manager.
VSCO 101: How to Use the Selfie Camera on Your iPhone
If you've spent countless hours scrolling through Instagram feeds full of selfies, then I'm sure you know that some are, well ... better than others. There are so many different things you can do to start taking better selfies to post on social media. One really easy way is to start shooting in VSCO.
How To: Turn On Night Shift Mode in iOS 11 on Your iPhone
It was extremely simple in iOS 10 to switch your iPhone's display to warmer colors at night, but iOS 11 buried the "Night Shift" toggle for some reason. So don't beat yourself up if you couldn't find the setting right away.
How To: The First Thing You Need to Learn About Tasker — How to Create Tasks
There are two core components to any Tasker automation: A profile and a task. Profiles are basically a set of conditions that must be met before Tasker will do anything. Tasks, on the other hand, are the actions Tasker will perform when your profile's conditions have been met. Think of them like triggers and actions, respectively. Or a cause and an effect.
ProtonMail 101: How to Change Your Display Name That Shows Up in Emails
Your display name in ProtonMail is what email recipients will see when they first receive your message in ProtonMail, Gmail, or another email provider. You can choose this name when you first set up your ProtonMail account, but it can also be set up after the fact if you skipped that step.
HoloLens Dev 101: Building a Dynamic User Interface, Part 1 (Setup)
Alright, let's dig into this and get the simple stuff out of the way. We have a journey ahead of us. A rather long journey at that. We will learn topics ranging from creating object filtering systems to help us tell when a new object has come into a scene to building and texturing objects from code.
How To: List of Phones with Unlockable Bootloaders
If you want to root your phone, it's a huge plus. If you want to install a custom ROM like LineageOS, it's an absolute must-have. Custom kernels like ElementalX, custom recoveries like TWRP — none of this happens unless you buy a phone with an unlockable bootloader.
How To: Find the Normal Photos for Your Portrait Mode Images in iOS 11
Whenever you would use "Portrait Mode" in iOS 10 on your iPhone 7 Plus, the camera would save both a regular and depth effect version. If you were low on space, you could always opt to save the depth effect version only, but this setting is now gone in iOS 11. While at first it seems like only the depth effect version is saved now, the normal version is still there, whether you like it or not — it's just hiding.
Ranked: The 4 Best Phones for Music Lovers — Under $400
One of the most popular usages of modern-day smartphones is listening to music. It doesn't matter if you download or stream your tunes, you are part of a massive group of users who do exactly the same. While statistics are a bit foggy on how many smartphones users download music, we do know that over 68% of American smartphone owners stream music on a daily basis.
How To: Add Filters to Individual Video Clips or Your Whole Entire Project in iMovie for iPhone
Just like in Instagram and other popular photo and video apps, iMovie for iPhone lets you add filters to your whole entire movie project. Not only that, but you can choose to add different filters to different video clips in your timeline, no matter if the clips started out as videos or photos.
How To: Add Fade-Ins, Fade-Outs & Fade-Through Transitions to iMovie Projects on Your iPhone
By default, iMovie for iPhone adds a dissolve (also called a crossfade) in between all of the video clips in your movie project's timeline, which is an effect that transitions gradually from the end of one clip to the beginning of another. However, iMovie does not add any beginning transitions to your first video clip or ending transitions to your last video clip. But that doesn't mean you can't.
Magisk 101: How to Install Magisk Modules from the Repo or Third-Party Sources
Much like Xposed or Cydia, Magisk has an official repository that makes it easy to download root-level tweaks. These tweaks are called modules, and they can do anything from changing your emojis to installing high-level audio mods. But as it stands, a large number of Magisk modules are not hosted on the official repo just yet, so there are two primary ways to install them.
How To: Add More Video Clips to iMovie Projects on Your iPhone
Adding additional photos to a movie project in iMovie for iPhone is relatively simple, but incorporating more videos to your timeline is a little bit more involved, only because there's more that you can do. Unlike with photos, you can trim the length of new videos, select the audio only, and add overlay effects.
Magisk 101: How to Install Magisk & Root with TWRP
There are a few different ways to install Magisk. If you're already rooted and you just want access to Magisk modules, you can use Magisk Manager to install the Magisk framework. Or, if you want to pass SafetyNet on a rooted device, you can switch from SuperSU to Magisk SU. But the best way to do it is to start fresh by installing Magisk on a non-rooted phone using TWRP.